Deathly Hallows reminiscence

[blamebrampton]

A number of people on my flist have recollected the fact that it is three years since the release of Deathly Hallows, and have been thinking back to that great and exciting time in fandom, and how they read the book.

I read it very badly. Mr Brammers had to run up to Newtown to grab my copy, because I was physically unable to make it out to the local shops, let alone up the hill to town. We had come back from New Zealand a week before and I had brought back a spectacular case of influenza, the sort that makes you understand that it kills people. I curled up in bed, propped up on pillows so I could breathe and with hot water bottles easing the ache in my ribs from coughing. Unlike the previous books, I read this one in fits and starts, and hallucinated large sections.

I only realised this last when I spoke about it with a friend at work a few weeks later. We both agreed the camping went on a bit further than it needed to, but the battle was pretty good and the twists convincing. She told me she liked the development of Hermione as the cranky voice of reason, I told her I liked the bit where Dementors were responsible for everyone wailing so emotionally about Princess Diana and forcing those poor grieving princes into that horrible public spectacle of a funeral.

She looked at me blankly.

I looked at her questioningly.

'That's not actually in the book,' she said.

'You sure?'

'Yup. You were pretty sick the other week, I think your mind wandered.'

I went home and picked it up and read it again. About 35 per cent of what I thought I had read the first time did not exist. 

In memory of the occasion, I appeared to have contracted a ghastly virus thanks to all those bastards who come into work and sneeze everywhere. Oh well, I've had a good health run lately, and if it means I need to take tomorrow off, at least I left everything in a good state today!

Comments

[momebie.livejournal.com]

Wow. I wish I'd read the book you read. :p I didn't dislike Deathly Hallows, but the camping bored the pants off of me. (Something my friend and I strongly disagree about.) I'm planning on re-reading it before the first part of the movie comes out in November, and I want to anyway because it's the only HP book I haven't read more than once. I'm hoping the camping is less boring this time. Heh.

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

You won't be surprised to learn that it contained more political commentary than the real manuscript ;-)

It wasn't the worse thing I've hallucinated, when they rebuilt my foot they gave me quite a bit of morphine and I spent a whole afternoon watching teeny tiny Teletubbies running up and down my hospital sheets ...

[momebie.livejournal.com]

Dear. That sounds positively horrifying. It's probably good thing I've never been given the 'good drugs'. God only knows what my subconscious would do with them.

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

I'm not at all good with opiates and usually refuse them, but they sneak them into your blood stream in surgery. At least the Teletubbies were mostly polite, singing and waving and saying 'Uh oh!' occasionally.

[chantefable.livejournal.com]

Those sneezing bastards! *hugs you*

I remember reading it in a sort of frenzy. I was so upset by the way JKR dealt with Snape that the ending was a bit of blur. (Of course, Harry is a troubled teenager, it would be so DIFFICULT for him to deal with an ALIVE Snape, all that forgiveness & understanding business... Let's do Snape in, because Harry is a special snowflake and it would be so much easier for him to come to terms with Snape having his back if the man was dead. Because that's what people do all the time, they have the manners to die a gruesome death to spare you the unpleasantness of feeling guilty because you were an arse to them. JKR's Killer Shovel of Authorial Intent: it means Harry never has to say he's sorry! Rejoice, duh.)

After that, I read the events with a sort of morbid detachment. (Sure, kill off Lupin. Go get Tonks while you're at it, of course that Teddy kid needs to be a total orphan if you want a Harry-mirroring character to round off your composition. Oh, it spares you explaining a couple plot logic blunders? Good for you! C'mon, do I hear anyone else kick the bucket? *thud* Yeah, there goes my hope Harry wouldn't go all Oedipal complex on us...)

Overall, I remember thinking/feeling it was rather fine, but some things that could have been developed into something awesome were just drifting away, while others were a bit roughly stitched together. But I gather that's a general problem when rounding up a series. (And at times, it did drag so slowly I kept thinking someone had a Time-Slower in their pocket. *g* )

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

Both Mr Brammers and I thought Snape and Draco Malfoy were totally wasted. But since they never found Snape's body, I can pretend Harry was able to save him quietly, and followed his wishes to let the man bunk off and live a quiet life, even handing over a nice photo of Lily in gratitude.

[chantefable.livejournal.com]

They didn't even try Dittany on Snape. Or anything. I choose to believe that someone saved him. There's actually a lot of leeway in canon text to argue that Snape survived in some way. ;)

But yes, some days I'm bitter and I imagine that Snape is out there doing Important Stuff and has a secret affair with Ginny. (Sorry, Harry. Composition is more important than your conjugal bliss.)

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

I'm not one for cross-gen, but he should be shagging some lovely redhead if there is any justice in the world!

friendsfriend surfing...

[kriscat.livejournal.com]

After years of only doing whatever strikes his fancy, Snape should use his potion skills to heal Donna Noble's memory. 'Cause everything is better with Ms. Noble. Their arguments would be spectacular. ;)

Re: friendsfriend surfing...

[chantefable.livejournal.com]

OMG! :)

BREAKING NEWS: thousands of Doctor Who/Harry Potter crossover plot bunnies have just landed on Planet Earth. Intelligence suggests they are using LJ to spread previously unknown 'ship virus...

;)

[chantefable.livejournal.com]

I really want to see Severus happy. There has to be some kind of wild justice! After years of being manipulated by autocratic political masterminds, he deserves all the shagging available, whatever the hair colour. :) Have a cocktail, Severus. Relax.

[lordhellebore]

Peferably this redhead ;)

[shocolate.livejournal.com]

That is the best Reading story evah!!

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

It means I have to hit War and Peace again one day, I read that during a not-quite-so-bad bout of influenza years ago, and since this experience have been concerned that I may have hallucinated large parts of it, too.

[winnett.livejournal.com]

I told her I liked the bit where Dementors were responsible for everyone wailing so emotionally about Princess Diana and forcing those poor grieving princes into that horrible public spectacle of a funeral.

Oh. I love you. I needed to read something this amusing today.

I plan on re-reading it come October, because I read it once, and listened to it once.

[lotus-lizzy.livejournal.com]

Hehe, I love fever-dreams :)

I'm sorry you're sick!

*hands you tissue*

[nuclearsugars.livejournal.com]

I told her I liked the bit where Dementors were responsible for everyone wailing so emotionally about Princess Diana and forcing those poor grieving princes into that horrible public spectacle of a funeral.

Damnit, that wasn't in the US edition I got! And it's moments like these why I have a Diana icon.

[potteresque_ire]

I actually would love to know what's in Book7, Brammers' version! I bet it's funnier and better edited ;).

I didn't stay up the night to read—my verbal abilities are gone once I get Zzzzzz. I remember I had baby carrots all day—breakfast, lunch and dinner—because then I don't have to get up from bed to cook and I don't have to worry about smudges!

*sighs happily* That was such a good day :).

[rosathome.livejournal.com]

That totally should have been in the book, though. I can't think of any other explanation that would account for the bizarre way people behaved that week.

[shiv5468.livejournal.com]

But it explains everything!!

[inamac.livejournal.com]

I think I like your version better. It makes so much more sense.

Having just looked at my entry for the relevant period I find that I liked the book - though the fact that the Malfoys survived to the end against all the odds may have coloured my perceptions.

I think I was most relieved about the fact that JKR had not gone the 'Matter of Britain' route like too many fantasy writers (yes, I'm looking at Guy Gavriel Kay and Alan Garner) before her.

[lordhellebore]

I want to read the book you read too - it sounds quite entertaining. (brissygirl linked me to let me know about this special version of DH ;)

[brissygirl.livejournal.com]

LOL! I don't think I've ever hallucinated anything in my life. Even when I dislocated my elbox by falling backwards off a table when I was a kid. I was too busy screaming my lungs out.

I'm half looking forward to and half dreading the first half of DH coming to a cinema near me later in the year. The last couple of movies have been butchered. I'll have to wait and see I guess.

BTW have you decided when you're coming up here?

[lilian-cho.livejournal.com]

I just came down with something last night. *commiserates*

*sends hot soup*

Why is there no Pho or porridge delivery why ;_;

[shu-shu-sleeps.livejournal.com]

I probably need to reread it, mainly because I remember so little about it (except the camping - I remember the camping). This is largely because when it was released, was in the middle of my four month double vision episode. I read the entire damn thing (the weekend it was released here) while holding a hand over one eye. Problem was the eye I could sort of see out of is the eye with the stigmatism, so I couldn't really see out of that either.....

[mabonwitch.livejournal.com]

I remember meaning to drabble ways Snape could survive before it came out, and failing to do so. I also remember squeeing at the "Dumbledore's man" scene.

I had a revelation the other day that the showdown between Harry and Voldemort is really sort of old-school gangster. I have this image of Harry talking about the disarming and so on, overlaid with someone chambering a single bullet and saying: "Do you feel lucky, punk? Do you?"

[meredyth-13.livejournal.com]

Oh joy, we appear to have achieved synchronised sniffling.

I hate my lungs.

As for DH, I read it once, when I got it. I don't remember much about what happened in it (which is more than I remember from HBP). I think I'm going to leave it like that, because then my chances of enjoying the movie/s is considerably higher.

*goes off to find more drugs, and a virgin forest to chop down as a sacrifice to the cold and tissue gods*

[lokifan]

LOL! Our subconsciouses (?) are often so much cleverer than we give them credit for.

I disliked the book. But I really must read it again! At least it gave me a fantastic discussion at my LJ.

[17catherines.livejournal.com]

I think I want to read your version of the book.

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

I remember it being quite decidedly trippy in a few parts ...

[17catherines.livejournal.com]

Even better!